All the Republican wailing about the high number of people on food assistance in recent years has obscured—intentionally—something important about the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: When the economy is bad and unemployment is high, it should grow. But when the economy improves, SNAP participation shrinks back down. That's why, instead of whining about food stamps and trying to force cuts, Republicans should have been trying to create jobs and raise wages if they wanted the program to shrink. Now, despite all the ways Republicans have stood in the way of fixing the economy, the employment situation is improving (not enough, but improving) and lo and behold, food stamp numbers are starting to drop:
If you understand the reasons for the program's growth during a massive recession with terrible jobs recovery, this makes sense.
What's more:
As of early 2014, SNAP caseloads were declining in 47 states, following the pattern of recovery from previous recessions, and the benefit increases from the Recovery Act ended in November 2013. SNAP spending fell slightly as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2012 and 2013, a trend that is expected to accelerate as the economy recovers.
When unemployment is high and the minimum wage is low, we should want nutrition assistance numbers to be high. The alternative under those circumstances is that a lot of people are going hungry, or are stuck with nutritionally poor diets. But the real goal should be low food stamp numbers because unemployment is low and work pays a livable wage. Sadly, that's not the goal of America's most vocal food stamp opponents.